lower "A" arm ball joints

[Todd L.]

There are currently aftermarket bolt on lower ball joints on my friends 72, they have what appears to be a steering bumper, in the AIM and catalogs, where pictures are shown of ball joints mounted with rivets, the stop is not there.


Why the difference, did a previous owner/mechanic change it for a reason, or is it an acceptable/correct replacement?

[Alan D.]

Re: lower "A" arm ball joints

Todd - need a little more information. Is your concern for Judging or Driving??? If for judging then even the repo A Arm assembly with rivet ball joints should take a hit (very minor) and would be your best option.

[Edward J.]

Re: lower "A" arm ball joints

Todd, possiably the owner may of had wider than normal tires, the wheel stops are of a make shift, or came with the bolt kit with the lower ball joints which Ive seen before.generally the hex head has a small stud molded to the bolt head about 3/8" long.

The factory design is just the rivits front and rear.

[Todd L.]

Re: lower "A" arm ball joints

The car is going to judged, so we will go with the most correct parts we can find. What kind of penalty would be taken, however slight? How do we overcome these kind of things?

[Edward J.]

Re: lower "A" arm ball joints

Todd, replacement ball joints are not pentalized, however if not rivited to the control arms they do receive a deduct. upper and lower if they are not rivited, Im not a accreddited judge but someone may be able to tell you.

The amount of work involved with the control arm removel and mailing them out you may want to opt. taking the deduct, unless the car is already apart, you'll need a hyd. press and the right tool to set them.

[Joe L.]

Re: lower "A" arm ball joints

There are currently aftermarket bolt on lower ball joints on my friends 72, they have what appears to be a steering bumper, in the AIM and catalogs, where pictures are shown of ball joints mounted with rivets, the stop is not there.


Why the difference, did a previous owner/mechanic change it for a reason, or is it an acceptable/correct replacement?

Todd-----


Aftermarket replacement lower ball joint kits are usually supplied with retaining bolts, one of which includes a fairly large, integral, cylindrical "stop". So, if the ball joints were ever replaced, it's VERY likely this stop bolt was supplied with the kit and installed by whoever installed them. I don't think the stop is necessary on a Corvette application, but the ball joint kit suppliers probably want to "cover all bases".

The original ball joints were riveted in place and no such "stop" (or, equivalent thereof) was used. To re-establish original configuration, this is what needs to be done. I don't know if the "stop bolt" results in any more point deduction than would result if just normal hex head bolts were used. However, if you want to "cover that base" and don't want to get involved in installing rivets, just replace the stop bolt with a normal hex head bolt (as was used at the other lower ball joint retaining position). That's very easy to do.

[Tracy C.]

Re: lower "A" arm ball joints

Todd,

Joe and others explained how your friends car came to the configuration it now has. It is possible to regain the correct riveted attachment of the ball joints with the right tools (air compressor, rivet guns, etc.)

I've submitted an articile to Vinnie to publish in an upcoming issue Restorer mag that shows how I did mine at home. It does require the control arms to be removed from the car, but if you need to replace the control bushings anyway, you can take care of both jobs while you have them off.

tc

[Timothy B.]

Re: lower "A" arm ball joints

Tracy,

I drilled the ball joint attachment holes in the control arms to the 5/16 size. Are rivets available for this size and where can I get them.. I am thinking about doing this but I don't want to go through all the work if they don't pass muster.

Also, what is your impression of these aftermarket reproduction ball joints?

[Tracy C.]

Re: lower "A" arm ball joints

Tim,

When I originally replaced my upper ball joints, I used the 5/16 bolts that came with the ball joints. Because I too drilled the holes to 5/16", I couldn't use the 1/4 " rivets supplied with the new "correct" upper ball joints.

The lower control arms use 5/16 rivets. I suppose you could buy some more of them, but you would need to grind down the length for use in the upper control arms. The head of the 5/16 rivet is larger, but they could be used.

Rather than trying to use upsized rivets, I bought unrestored control arms off eBay and restored them. The upper control arms are the same for the 63 - 82 Corvettes, so these things come pretty cheap.

The reproduction ball joints appear to be pretty close in appearance but I have no experience with how they perform on the road. Someday I will....I promise.

tc

[Timothy B.]

Re: lower "A" arm ball joints

Thanks Tracy..

[Keith L.]

Re: lower "A" arm ball joints

How do the repo control arms with the riveted ball joints already installed judge. Can you tell the deference in the arms themselves. And if you can would slightly pitted originals be prefered over the repos?

[Tracy C.]

Re: lower "A" arm ball joints

Keith,

I've not seen the repop control arms although I've heard the original tooling is used to make them. They are pretty salty though...

tc

[John H.]

Re: lower "A" arm ball joints

Here's the GM-licensed reproduction midyear lower control arm; made by Vette Products of Michigan from the original Chevrolet-Warren dies.

[Timothy B.]

Re: lower "A" arm ball joints

John, That's a nice looking lower A arm. Do they rivet the ball joint also??

[John H.]

Re: lower "A" arm ball joints

John, That's a nice looking lower A arm. Do they rivet the ball joint also??

Tim -

Yes, or you can buy the arm and ball joint separately.